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Munich, 11 March 2020. CTS EVENTIM, one of the leading international providers of ticketing services and live entertainment, finished the 2019 financial year with record revenue and earnings.
Group revenue in 2019 rose 16.2% year-on-year to a total of EUR 1.44 billion (2018: EUR 1.24 billion). The normalised EBITDA figure improved by 25.6% to EUR 286.5 million (2018: EUR 228.1 million). The normalised EBITDA margin in 2019 was 19.9% (2018: 18.4%). These figures mark a new record and the highest ever achieved so far in the history of CTS EVENTIM. The Ticketing and Live Entertainment segments both contributed to this strong growth. Application of IFRS 16 (recognition of right-of-use assets deriving from leases) within the Group had a positive EUR 18.6 million impact on the normalised EBITDA.
Revenue in the Ticketing segment increased by 7.7% to EUR 481.6 million (2018: EUR 447.1 million). The normalised EBITDA figure improved by 12.6% to EUR 220.4 million (2018: EUR 195.8 million). The normalised EBITDA margin in the Ticketing segment in 2019 was 45.8% (2018: 43.8%). This increase in revenue and in EBITDA margin in the Ticketing segment is attributable above all to continuous performance improvements and optimisations of eCommerce operations, and to efficient and innovative B2B sales activities. For example, extensive technical measures were implemented in 2019 to optimise the EVENTIM webshop system, the backbone for CTS EVENTIM’s eCommerce activities at national and international level. A total of 57.3 million tickets were sold online in 2019 (2018: 54.3 million) via the webshops operated by the CTS Group; this equates to a growth rate of 5.6%.
Record earnings were likewise achieved in the Live Entertainment segment in 2019, thanks to major successful tours by the likes of world-famous Ed Sheeran. Revenue growth in this segment was 21.3%, increasing to a figure of EUR 985.8 million (2018: EUR 812.5 million). The normalised EBITDA figure was up by 104.9% to EUR 66.1 million in the 2019 reporting year (2018: EUR 32.3 million). In the Live Entertainment segment, a normalised EBITDA margin of 6.7% was achieved in the 2019 reporting year (2018: 4.0%).
Over the past year, the activities and success of the Live Entertainment segment were centred above all on creating the EVENTIM LIVE platform and on exploiting available synergies. In March 2019, CTS EVENTIM concentrated all its activities and interests at national and international level under a new and unified promoter network in order to give performers more comprehensive offers for international touring and to foster cooperation among promoters. The ‘Rock am Ring’ and ‘Rock im Park’ festivals, much loved by fans, performed superbly again in 2019, thus contributing to total earnings in the Live Entertainment segment.
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of CTS EVENTIM, commented that ‘In 2019 we delivered impressive proof of the successfulness and profitability of our integrated business model comprising Ticketing Services, Live Entertainment and Content. We continued to grow significantly over 2019, while at the same time enhancing our market position at both national and international level. The venues we operate also showed encouraging growth and are among the best in the world.’
The LANXESS arena in Cologne, for example, has been ranked third among the world’s most successful arenas by Pollstar, the well-known industry publication. The Waldbühne in Berlin, likewise included in CTS EVENTIM’s portfolio, has once again been elected as Europe’s most successful amphitheatre.
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg sums up by saying that ‘CTS EVENTIM has long been an integrated entertainment corporation that offers its customers a full and highly diversified range of live events. The company is constantly developing and changing, adapting itself to the needs and requirements of new markets and a new age.’
The full Annual Report of CTS Eventim AG & Co. KGaA will be published on 17 March 2020 and will be available for download at corporate.eventim.de.
Further information regarding COVID-19
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg says, ‘COVID-19 has only had some isolated impacts on our business so far, for example in Italy and Switzerland, where events have already been postponed or cancelled. The situation as it has developed in recent days shows that, in Germany also, some events will not be able to take place on the scheduled dates due to government-imposed bans. We are assuming that in most cases it will be possible to postpone events to a later date. The majority of our events take place in summer and the second half of the year anyway, and so far there is no reason to believe that our major open-air festivals this summer will not take place as planned. Nevertheless, we have to proceed on the assumption that in the 2020 financial year the coronavirus situation will have negative impacts on ticket sales and revenue in the concert sector that we are currently unable to quantify.
However, we are greatly concerned to see that an increasing number of cancelled events will threaten the existence of small and medium-sized concert promoters. In those cases where events cannot be held due to government bans, our urgent appeal to policymakers is to take appropriate action to ensure that private-sector companies in the live entertainment industry can continue making their contribution to cultural diversity in Germany.’
About CTS EVENTIM
CTS EVENTIM is one of the leading international providers of ticketing services and live entertainment. In 2019, around 250 million tickets were marketed using the company’s systems – be it through stationary box offices, online or from mobile terminals. Its online portals operate under brands such as eventim.de, oeticket.com, ticketcorner.ch, ticketone.it and entradas.com. The EVENTIM Group also includes many concert, tour and festival promoters for events like ‘Rock am Ring’, ‘Rock im Park’, ‘Hurricane’, ‘Southside’ and ‘Lucca Summer’. In addition, some of Europe’s most renowned venues are operated by CTS EVENTIM, for example the LANXESS Arena in Cologne, the K.B. Hallen in Copenhagen, the Waldbühne in Berlin and the EVENTIM Apollo in London. CTS Eventim AG & Co. KGaA (ISIN DE 0005470306) has been listed on the stock exchange since 2000 and is currently a member of the MDAX segment. In 2019, its 3,202-strong workforce generated more than 1.44 billion Euro in revenue in 21 countries.
